


Abuse

by Gyllenhaal



Category: Astral Chain (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lawyers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:00:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyllenhaal/pseuds/Gyllenhaal
Summary: Akira is neglecting himself and bottling up his emotions while working through a hard case. Jin does his best to comfort his stubborn lover and help him through it.
Relationships: Akira Howard/Jin Wong
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Abuse

At first glance, Akira looked perfectly fine, his light but intelligent smile and enchanting personality made people flock to him for help and attention. 

But most people were blind, it seemed only Jin could see it. The slight stubble growing on a usually spotless jaw, the added slouch in his posture, the way he was more upset with himself, how he barely ate anything anymore, and the way his warm eyes were constantly threatening to spill with tears. 

Jin knew something was clearly wrong, and he knew he was partially at fault for letting akira get to this state. But akira always had a reasonable excuse, and Jin knew better than to force the younger to talk when he wasn't ready. 

He watched akira steel himself up for court and wished him well. Jin did his paperwork for a while on a case he had settled and before he had realized, it was already 3. 

Akira still had stacks of paperwork on his desk from his too busy schedule with his back-to-back cases everyday. And he watched his boyfriend step out of the courtroom looking worse then he did that morning. 

The CEO called Akira into his office before Jin could even speak. He sighed and picked up his paperwork, he needed to drop it off at the police station which meant he would have no time to catch akira. 

Jin grumbled and picked up his paperwork, he would definitely get his lover to talk today. The thought eased his mind as he walked stoically to his car and headed to the station. 

××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

When Jin returned, it'd been just after 3:30 and he hoped to catch Akira on some downtime. But he looked at his desk and saw that everything was cleaned up and his paperwork was gone, as if he had gone home. 

He checked his phone and saw nothing so he was about to call the younger until two junior lawyers walked by his desk. Chatting about how Akira was sent home because the quality of his reports wasn't up to par. 

Which meant that he had to redo all 20 reports he turned in his week. Jin frowned as he called another number and waited until a sing-song voice answered the phone. 

He finished his call and knocked gently on the Yosephs office, he heard a 'Come in' and he entered with a bow. 

"Ah, what do I owe the pleasure Mr. Wong?"

Jin preferred to skip all the pleasantries but he kept his hands clasped firmly behind his back and posture straight as he smiled politely. 

"I was hoping to request the rest of the evening off, Sir."

Yoseph clapped his hands together and smiled knowing, amusement dancing around his eyes. 

"I was going to send you home with Akira but you were at the station so I figured I'd wait for you to come to me."

Jin fought the blush off his eye face and straightened his glasses as he stood with a serious expression. Yoseph laughed lightly and Jin could feel his embarrassment growing and his mask slipping. 

"Go, go, lover boy. As long as you can get akira's reports back to their quality I don't mind. Ah! That reminds me, your reports have been exceptional. Please continue your hard work."

The blush finally started turning his face red, and he couldn't make eye contact with the amused man. 

"Thank you, Sir."

Yoseph shooed him out with a warm laugh and as Jin was halfway through the doorway, Yoseph spoke again. 

"Now Jin, remember, I'm not blind and neither of you are too subtle."

The older man clapped when Jin's ears turned pink which confirmed his suspicion. Jin retreated while Yoseph laughed fondly at him and young love. 

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

When Jin got home, he saw Akira in their study scribbling out another mistake he had just made. Jin crept closer to the younger and saw the report that was almost all scribbled out from all the mistakes he kept making. 

Gently, Jin grabbed the pen from his lover's hand and grabbed the report he was working on. He put the report on the huge stack and laid the pen back on the desk once he scooped up akira who was too tired to put up anything more than a weak fight. 

He carried akira to the bathroom and urged him to take a shower. Jin closed the door after him and waited until he heard the familiar sound of water running before he went back to the study. 

Jin picked up the huge stack of papers and reports akira had to fill out along with every case' notes that were easily legible. That would make Alicia and Marie's jobs easier because Akira had filled out their paperwork last week when the two wanted to attend a concert without finishing their case reports. 

A knock at the door made jin smile as he told them to enter. Alicia and Marie's faces greeted him before they each took half of the paperwork stack with no complaints to his surprise. 

All he received was a serious look from Alicia and a small smile from Marie. 

"Bring back our boy, got it?"

Jin nodded and Marie gave Akira her best wishes before both women left and Jin closed the door with a sigh. He locked it and walked back to their bedroom where akira was stepping out in one of Jin's shirts and boxers from the master bathroom. 

He sat down on the edge of the bed staring off into nowhere, so Jin bent down right in front of the younger male. 

"Ki," he said gently, the nickname he had for his lover, "I can't help if you don't talk to me."

The older man ran his hand through Akira's dampened locks that stuck in soft peaks from the moisture. Akira let out a shaky sigh and grabbed Jin's hand, pulling him into bed with him until they were curled up together against the pillows. 

Akira laid across from jin on their sides while the younger tried to formulate his thoughts into proper sentences. Jin ran a hand under akira's shirt to trace gentle shapes into his lithe form in support. 

"I...it started on, um," his voice was caught in his throat but he swallowed the tight lump down, "this monday."

"I had to drop off my reports for my weekend case and there was a child sitting right outside the Chief's office. He was about 5 and there was a fist sized bruise on his cheek."

Jin knew children's cases messed Akira up, those cases were too much like his own. 

"So I sat in front of the boy and started with a simple 'Hello.' He looked up and just started crying, and...what was I supposed to do? I just hugged him and he started talking about his father."

Akira's grip tightened on Jin's hand as he fought away more tears so he could properly explain what happened. 

"He said that daddy told him that he hit the cabinet and all the dinner plates fell on him. I knew it was absurd but the boy looked into my eyes and he looked so conflicted. All he said was, 'daddy told me it wasn't okay to hit people, mama doesn't understand.'"

Jin urged him to continue, pulling the younger closer so that he could rub his hand up and down Akira's side to help sooth him. Taking a deep breath, he continued. 

"So I told him that in life, there will be many hard times, but no matter how hard and long they might be, it'll be okay in the end. I promise."

The younger choked on the last two words and Jin hugged akira to his chest as he cried. 

"T-the next day-y, I learned that h-e to stand witness against h-is own moth-r."

Akira hiccuped and Jin tried his best to hush the younger.

"His mother w-as charged with domes-tic abu-se, a-and s-he got out."

He croaked, Jin would have crumbled after just two days of carrying that weight. Now he wondered how Akira survived so long without breaking, he brushed Akira's hair out of his face and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. 

"Let me guess, the father insisted that he fell and the boy said nothing?"

Nodding akira sighed, it was rare that he cried but when he did, it was as if someone let a dam open.

"Then today, t-they were back. The neighbors cal-led because there was more screaming. The m-other beat her husband to death-th be-because he was protecting the boy."

Soon, Akira's cries became heart wrenching sobs.

"I promised him!"

"Shhhh, baby let's remember, it wasn't your fault she was let off the hook. Does the boy have any family?"

Jin wiped away Akira's tears as the younger nodded his head. Then a bright idea popped into his head, he pressed kisses up Akira's shoulder to his ear where he whispered,

"Do you remember what we talked about last month?"

Akira shook his head as Jin started mouthing the shell of his boyfriend's ear. 

"Why don't we visit the father's grave along with your mothers and pay respects?"

"Sounds good."

Jin hugged him tightly as Akira's body was starting to crash from exhaustion, both mentally and physically.


End file.
